ikhtar اختار
Tunisian Derja · verb
“ikhtar” (اختار) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to choose.
Meanings
- to choose
- to select, opt for
Usage
Ikhtar is the common verb for "to choose" in Tunisia. It is conjugated regularly: ikhtart (I chose), nekhtar (I choose), ikhtar! (choose!). It is used with a direct object (ikhtar el-loun = he chose the colour) or followed by a clause (ikhtar chnowa t7eb = choose what you want). The register is neutral, both in speech and in writing. Online, the initial hamza is often written (إختار), but the pronunciation stays the same. The corresponding noun, ikhtiyar (choice), is also used, especially in a more formal register.
Example
إختار اللي يعجبك، أنا نخلّص
ikhtar elli y3ejbek, ana nkhalles
“Choose what you like, I'll pay.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ikhtar” but also “e5tar”, “i5tar” and “e5ter”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “ikhtar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written ختار, where it means “to choose, select”; “to prefer, opt for”: khtar in Moroccan.